Faculty Publications and Conference Presentations

<p>This paper reports an exploratory study of questions about English grammar sent in by a group of Hong Kong ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers to a teacher support computer network, Tele Nex. The study examines the questions Hong Kong ESL teachers ask about the English language. Arising from the questions posed, the paper then delineates the kinds of language support that ESL teachers may need. Grammar questions sent in by teachers to the network constituted the data source. The questions were analysed in terms of the frequency of the content words used, linguistic categories, and teacher knowledge. The principal findings are that the teachers’ grammar-related questions typically arose out of their everyday pedagogical needs and these needs seem to be shaped by their implicit models of grammar as a set of rules for ‘correct’ language use. Such information on ‘correct’ use does not seem to be easily available from major reference books. These findings confirm the value of a computer network where teachers can obtain continuous informational support and participate in collaborative discussions, which can develop an awareness of grammar as a meaning-making tool.</p>

<p>This paper discusses the rationale and criteria for developing TeleGram, an electronic grammar database for English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers in Hong Kong. The paper begins by describing the importance of explicit grammatical knowledge in effective language teaching. It then moves on to describe the design criteria for TeleGram, which aims at providing a body of content knowledge and pedagogic content knowledge that is relevant to English language teaching. This discussion addresses two central issues which have implications for the selection and presentation of content for TeleGram: (a) How is a teachers' grammar different from a reference grammar?, and (b) How can information be presented more effectively in an electronic medium than a printed medium? The paper concludes by pointing out that TeleGram is still in its early stage of development and that teacher feedback will be used as a basis for revision.</p>